1. iRobot Roomba and the Future of Domestic Robots Dr. Hayden So Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering 12 Sep, 2008

2. Rosie of the Jetsons

3. Domestic Robots  Robots that help us do our work at home Service robots, home robots, therapeutic robots…  Why do we care? A Robot in Every Home…

4. Robots today – Humanoid – Asimo Cost: ~US$ 1 million Cost: ~US$ 1 million

5. Pet Robot – Aibo Cost: ~US$ 2,500 Cost: ~US$ 2,500

6. iRobot Roomba  Autonomous vacuum cleaning robot  Introduced in 2002  Detect dirt and clean dirty area automatically  Scheduler  Auto recharge Finished vacuum Low battery  Dumb? Smart? Cost: US$ 279.99 Cost: US$ 279.99

7. Roomba is Dumb and Smart  Dumb Does not remember contour of your room Does not remember the spot that has been cleaned  Smart Auto slow down to avoid hard collision Pressure sensors Dirt sensors Virtual Wall + Light House “guide” Roomba around the house Home base/ Virtual Wall/ Lighthouse IR sensor Cliff Detection Sensors Pressure Sensors Dirt Sensors

8. Roomba Time

9. Robot is about Robust Control  A feedback control system React according to the environment Read from Environment Motor Position GPS, Acceleration/Velocity, Dirt, Heat, Light, IR, RF Read from Environment Motor Position GPS, Acceleration/Velocity, Dirt, Heat, Light, IR, RF Decision Making Should I move/stop? How far? How fast? Decision Making Should I move/stop? How far? How fast? Reaction Accelerate, Decelerate Stop, open arm, close arm, etc Reaction Accelerate, Decelerate Stop, open arm, close arm, etc

10. Robotic Vision  Analyzing environment using visible light  Computer vision is difficult Cheap robots like Roomba can’t do it.  FPGA for autonomous control

11. Therapeutic Robot  Human Companion  Has psychological therapeutic effects  Example: Paro the seal